Tag: The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas

Calanthe masuca (D.Don) Lindl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Pseudo bulbs, closely arranged, conical with annular scars, 4 to 6 cm in height, many long stout roots arising from its base. Leaves elliptic, acute, narrowed at the base to a short petiole, 4 to 6 in numbers, 8 to 12 cm long and 3 to 5 cm in width, veined. Flowers many, in peduncle arising between the outer leaf and the inner ones, and longer than it, with 2 to 4 narrow lanceolate bracts at regular intervals. Raceme much shorter than the peduncle. Floral bract narrow, lanceolate, arising from the lower side of the stalked ovary.

The Flower

Flowers about 3 to 4 cm across, depressed. Sepals sub-equal, lanceolate; dorsal slightly shorter and wider than the lateral, arching or diagonally erect; lateral spreading. Petals smaller and narrower than the sepals, oblanceolate, one veined. Lip smaller than the sepals and petals, three lobed; basal lobes oblong, stretching forward; apical lobe large, spreading, rhomboid, deeply emarginate at its apex; the disc with three irregular long calli at the centre and two short ones on to its sides. Spur cylindric, longer than the stalked ovary. Floral bract arising from the lower side of the stalked ovary and less than half the size of it, lanceolate.

Sepals and petals pale violet to pink, petals much paler than the sepals. The margins of both closer to pinkish white. Lip of a darker shade of sepals and petals, the ridges on its disc are reddish brown. Spur and ovary pale violet. Floral bract green.

Calanthe masuca, (D.Don) Lindl.
Calanthe masuca, (D.Don) Lindl.

The Pursuit

During the alpine hunt months between May and October my visits to the lower altitudes were very seldom. With some urgent financial issues I was forced to make a trip down hill. Luckily without any roadblocks and landslides we reached the town and I attended the work and were about go back. One of my friends from the town who got news about my presence in the town invited us to have lunch from his home. As we were driving to his home, I spotted several plants of this species in full bloom on the valley side of the road. As I never expected this species there at that time, it needed a closer look to identify it. As I was carrying my camera and accessories I decided to document it then and there. I had studied this species earlier so it took hardly 30 to 40 minutes for the documentation. Then we proceeded to my friend’s home, had lunch and went back up hill.

My first encounter with this species was more exciting and I wish to share it here. The find was two years before I started living in the Sikkim-Himalayas. While in the college I took two field trips every year to the North East states under the educational program funds, spanning for 60 to 70 days each. I was traveling in the 12424 Dibrugarh Town bound New Delhi-Dibrigarh Town Rajdhani express, a journey which will take about 39 hours. On the second day of the journey around 13 hrs with a major station approaching, the train was moving at slow speed due to some rail replacements on the track. As I was looking out of the window, I saw several of this species in bloom inside the bushy under growths on the sides of the rail track. As the Rajdhani was running at a very slow speed and proximity of the flowers in bloom helped me to identify the species and I wanted to document it. That was my first encounter with this species in bloom. By that time the train had entered the station, and I was so eager to study and document it, that I instantly decided to de-board. De-boarding the huge load of luggage, staying for that night there and re-scheduling the trip ahead etc., never came to my mind, as I was totally mesmerised by those flowers at that time. Got off the train with all my luggage and headed straight the Station Superintendent’s office. I explained to him about my journey ahead and the reason of de-boarding the train. He was a very kind man and told me not to worry. He called a helper and put my entire luggage in his official room. I was so relaxed and happy to see the luggage kept safe and I walked all the way under the hot sun to the location of those flowers and studied and documented them. As it was my first encounter with the plant it took more than 3 hours to finish the documentation work. By that time, the Station Master got worried and sent a search party to look for me. To the relief of the Station Master, I returned with the search party. I slept in the retiring room, arranged by the Station Master for the night, along with many annoying mosquitoes!!! Next day, the Station Master using his official influence got me another confirmed ticket for the same 12424 Rajdhani of that day for Dibrugarh Town and I proceeded to my destination, with a wonderful find to my kitty.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Calanthe masuca Lindl., Page no 173

Calanthe alpina Hook.f. ex Lindl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Pseudo-bulbs closely arranged, cylindric, with two or three annular markings, tapering to both ends, 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter, with few scattered stout roots. Pseudo-stem very short, sheathed. Leaves three, unequal, oblanceolate, acute, tapering towards a short petiole, 7 to 12 cm long and 2 to 4 cm in width, petiole 1 to 1.5 cm long, distinctly veined. Flowers few, laxly arranged in a peduncle arising from the inside of the outer leaf. Peduncle smaller than the longer leaf and with a single lanceolate bract around one third of its height from the base.

The Flower

Flowers 2 to 3 cm across. Sepals almost equal, ovate with pointed apex, margins to the apex curved up to form a boat like structure. Dorsal sepals arching or diagonally erect, lateral not spreading, curved forward, five nerved. Petals smaller than the sepals, lanceolate with pointed apex, the boat shaped margins toward the apex is not prominent as that of sepals, not spreading but curved forward. Lip as long as the sepals, without side lobes, broadly lanceolate when spread, margins fimbriate as well as curved up to form a boat like structure. Spur straight, cylindric, longer than the decurved ovary and narrowing to its minutely bifid apex. Floral bracts lanceolate, diminishing upwards, arising from the upper side and less than half the size of the decurved ovary,

Sepals and petals pale creamy white at their bases turning greenish white to their margins and apexes. Lip creamy white, its disc with five pinkish brown parallel broad lines running through its entire length. The fimbriate margins, under side of the lip and the portion on the sides of the disc are with irregular markings and spots of pinkish brown. Spur pale creamy white. Floral bract pale green to its base and turning green towards its apex.

Calanthe alpina, Hook.f. ex Lindl.
Calanthe alpina Hook.f. ex Lindl.

The Pursuit

A plant found and described by Sir. J. D. Hooker on his epical voyage in the Sikkim-Himalayas back in 1848-49. However, even after more than 164 years this plant was not documented at all from the region. Several publications by many eminent researchers were out in the market in those 164 years with descriptions of this species. But none of them were able to produce a photograph of this species in flower or in plant thus underlining the fact that none of them had ever spotted the plant from its natural habitats. The description of the plant were merely a “cut and paste” from Hooker’s publication.

I was determined to find this plant at any cost. During my alpine region work in the monsoon months I had put extra efforts to locate this species. Two monsoon seasons went without any trace of the species. In 2012, during the monsoon I was in the high hills doing my alpine hunt. The region is mostly under the control of border security force and needs many reporting at several points for my movement. Due to various reasons beyond explanation I became very familiar and close with many of the officials, which enabled my movement and work in the region without much obstacles. On one such day, as I was there on the reporting desk to report about that day’s trip, the official who was in charge of co-ordination asked me whether I am willing to accompany a team of personnel on a mission inside the deep forest. My reply to such a wonderful opportunity was affirmative.

Within a short time the entire party was ready to leave and I accompanied them. They were trekking to a deep forest inside a valley for fixing some communication lines that had snapped during the previous day’s rain. The area was a region I had never ventured. It was a golden opportunity to explore a new area, along with many security personnel; some of them had undergone jungle warfare coaching. The sixth sense in me was saying, “that today I am going to find something new”. It was the monsoon season and there will be many annular plants in bloom. The only difficulty is that to locate them from the thick under growths, which cover the forest floor during the monsoon. The only advantage of those alpine forests is that there will not be any poisonous snakes. The first one-hour went without any new finds, all the species I spotted were all recorded earlier by me. As the personnel were working with their assignment, I ventured down to the valley, which was covered with towering trees all around. The forest was silent but for the sound of the flow of a small stream. My experience with thick forests in the alpine region shows that the streams inside thick forest are heaven for annular plants especially terrestrial orchids. As the valley was having a steep slope it was very difficult to walk ahead to the stream. As I had a strong back up team few meters behind me to tackle any emergencies I was determined to move forward to the stream. It took me around 40 minutes to cover few meters to reach down to the stream. It was hardly 2 m wide, but the flow was so strong I was not able to cross it. Hence, I decided to climb up-hill along its side so that I can survey both the sides of the stream. As the valley was deep the up hill climb was more difficult. I dropped the idea of up-hill climb and decided to go back and join the personnel at work. As I was turning around I spotted three small plants in bloom, less than 15 cm in height, on the other side of the stream. I was not able to identify it, however I understood it was an orchid species. I never missed any opportunity to document an orchid, how great the difficulties I have to face. I thought of several ideas to cross the stream, but crossing it all alone was very risky. Then I thought of taking the help of security personnel at work. Surprisingly, an interesting idea came to me – climb up a tree of this side of the stream and move across a branch hanging to the other side and jump down!!! I don’t know from where I got the courage or skills, I was up a tree in a few seconds, moved across and jumped down on the other side of the stream. With great difficulty I reached those plants and to my surprise it was Calanthe alpina Hook., a plant which was never found for more than 150 years from the region. I was in a state of ecstasy that I have no words to explain. The flowers were fresh bloom with many buds still to be in bloom. “It seems they were waiting for me”. I sat there near to the plant on that wet forest floor, spread out my notebook to make drawings and noted down other details, and started documenting it. By then, the security personnel started beckoning me. I responded with message that I will join them soon. I documented the plant and its flowers till all the batteries I was carrying drained out.

The most interesting part of that day was still to follow; I found no ways to cross the stream. Most of the trees on the other side were with wide trunks and I was unable to climb. After several attempts, I called for help and a few personnel came running to my rescue. They helped me with ropes and fallen tree trunks to cross the stream. We all returned to the base after around 2 hours of steep climb. In the evening I got a message from the highest security official of the unit to meet him next day. I guessed it would be regarding my risky affairs of the day. The next day I visited him at his office. Before he started the topic I mesmerized him with many beautiful photographs of the species and explained to him the importance of the find. The talk and discussion went for about half an hour and by that time he virtually had forgotten for what he had called me.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Calanthe alpina Hook., Page no 170.

Bulbophyllum refractum (Zoll.) Rchb.f.

The Plant

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs, crowded, conical, slightly flattened, 1 cm in height and 1. 2 to 1.8 cm in diameter at its base, with many woody roots; wrinkled during flowering. Leaves in pair, arising from the apex of the bulb, oblong, narrowed to the base, sessile, 4 to 7 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in width, deciduous during flowering. Flowers in scape arising from the base of the bulb. Peduncle erect or diagonally erect, with two ovate clasping bracts at equal distance from the base of the scape, 4 to 9 cm long. Raceme pendulous, 6 to 14 cm long, many flowered.

The Flower

Flowers pendulous, arranged spirally. Sepals unequal, lanceolate, ciliolate, less than 1 cm long; lateral linear, both fused together except at its base to form an oblong shape and partially twisting along the middle, laxly ciliolate, 4 to 7 cm long and 0.8 to 1.2 cm in width, 10 to 12 veined. Petals very small, triangular, densely ciliolate. Lip longer than petals but shorter than the lateral sepals, fleshy, oblong, lower surface convex, hairy. Floral bracts from the upper side of the short sessile ovary, lanceolate. Flowers with a soothing scent.

Dorsal sepal, petals and lip are whitish brown base with broad markings of purple, the marginal hairs of sepals and petals as well as the lip hairs are dark purple. Lateral sepal which forms the most attractive part of this flower are bright yellow mixed with purple shade, its base with minute purple dots; but turns brownish yellow when old. Floral bract pale brown.

Bulbophyllum refractum, (Zoll.) Rchb.f.
Bulbophyllum refractum (Zoll.) Rchb.f.

The Pursuit

King and Pantling described this species as “a curious plant”. It is true anyone who has seen this flower once will never forget it. I was aware about the peculiar shape of this orchid flower and was studying it much before I started my work on orchids of the region. In the winter months I made a couple of trips to the Himalayas for finding this, but those short trips never brought any results other than enjoying the coolness of the Himalayas.

When I started living in the region from 2011 with the current project, my first intention was to see and document this flower. I enquired about this plant wherever I went and whomever I met in connection with my work. Finally in the early winter month I met a group of villagers who had seen this in flower in a forested area near their village. After several calls and a lot of coordination, a few of those villagers accompanied on the pursuit. We were 4 people on that particular day and searched by climbing up several trees. Unfortunately we were not able to spot the plants. That year was not fruitful in spotting the species.

In 2012, I was traveling to a distant village, which is in a deep valley surrounded by semi tropical dense forested hills on a friend’s bike. On this particular day I was on hunt for another plant. We were there by 9 in the morning and did its documentation very well, had a small survey of the surrounding area till noon. After having lunch from there we were riding back, this time I tried my luck with the handle bar. The ride was almost uphill all the way back and needed careful riding. Hence I was concentrating on the forest road to negotiate the vehicle properly. Almost half way on the uphill road, I spotted something strange on top of a tall tree to the right side of the road. Immediately I stopped the vehicle for a close look. To my surprise I found two plants of this species in full bloom. I will never forget that moment, as it is a bonus to find two plants in full bloom!!! Both of them were on a thin branch almost 60 ft high. The branch was extending to the road and was almost 16 to 20 ft long. There was no way to reach it. Even if we climb the tall tree, we would not be able to reach the flowers, as the branch in which it was growing was very thin and would not hold my weight. We both thought of many ideas but without any success. The village, which we visited, was more than 17 km away and bringing somebody from there for help was also not feasible on that day as it was already evening. We returned with great disappointment. I was not able to sleep even for a minute on that night, my mind was thinking about various ideas to reach those flowers.

Next day, we went again to the spot to try our luck, with two long ropes and the local knife, “the kukri”. After many rounds of ideas and suggestions, it was decided to break the branch of that tree and bring down the plants, study and document them and replant those plants to another branch. I never advocated cutting down any branches or pulling out any plants from its natural habitat. But in a situation like this I was left with no other options. Before taking a final decision we both surveyed the entire area to look for any other specimens but in vain. Then we decided to go for the most painful decision of my orchid hunt in the Himalayas till date. My friend climbed up the near by tree and tied a long rope to the apex end of the branch with flowers. Simultaneously I roped the other end to the trunk of the tree. Then, I started cutting the branch with great care and detached it from the trunk. Now, the thin branch was up there with the support of those ropes tied to its either sides. We untied those ropes and lowered the branch to ground level with utmost care. We came down the tree and I have no words to describe my first close view of this beautiful orchid flower. The next couple of hours were with notebook and camera for documenting it. Noted down all its characteristics, checked it several times to make sure everything was right and documented those flowers until a whole bag of flash batteries got drained out.

Then came the most important part of the current hunt, “to replant those plants”. I read many articles by eminent scientists from the Neo Tropical region and their way of trans-locating plants from fallen trees to new locations. Taking much clue from those notes and directions we trans-located those 11 buds to a new branch. Later on, in the coming weeks I made several visits to the locations to make sure the plants are growing in their new locations.

Last year, around the same time I found 6 flowering scape and the number of bulbs increased to 16. That sight had given me more joy than the find of this species exactly one year before. The Lord has answered my prayers for not being the reason for the extinction of this species at least from that location.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Cirrhopetalum refractum Zollinger., Page no 87.

Bulbophyllum odoratissimum (Sm.) Lindl. ex Wall.

The Plant

Epiphyte, but grows as lithophyte also. Pseudo-bulb sub-cylindric, smooth, 1.5 to 2 cm long and less than 1 cm in diameter, attached to a woody branched rhizome 4 to 7 cm apart. Leaf oblong, narrowing to the base, sessile, 4 to 7 cm long and 1.5 cm in width, slightly decurved at the apex. Flowers small, capitate, on a scape arising from the base of the pseudo-bulbs, with 2 to 3 lanceolate clasping sheaths, 4 to 6 cm long. Floral bracts longer than the pedicellate ovary.

The Flower

Flowers 1 to 1.5 cm across. Sepals sub-equal, lanceolate with broad base, apex varying – terete to pointed. Dorsal smaller than the lateral, diagonally arching; lateral spreading on the  base flowers, the rest arranged forward parallel to the lip. Petals smaller than the lip, ovate. Lip fleshy, curved, with a narrow lanceolate ridge running from the base to almost the mid of its disc, margins of the lip as well as the ridge with fine hairs. Sweet scented.

Sepals and petals white to pale creamy. Lip orange red, its margins as well as the ridge margins on its disc are white. Floral bracts pale cream and translucent, scape green.

Bulbophyllum odoratissimum, (Sm.) Lindl. ex Wall.
Bulbophyllum odoratissimum (Sm.) Lindl. ex Wall.

The Pursuit

A very interesting plant with sweet scented beautiful flowers. As it has a huge altitudinal range, it can be easily located from many places of the region.

I too located it without much difficulty, but it took three flowering seasons to produce a photograph of my desire. During its flowering season in the first two years, I was working in the Alpine zone and my visit to the lower altitudes were very seldom. Seven times I tried to reach to this species during its flowering time, but failed due to various reasons. Twice I was there when it was in full bloom, but the monsoon rains prevented me from producing perfect pictures.

In 2013, as I was finishing all undocumented and already discovered species, I took special efforts to document this. Its flowers are very small and its round flower head were not documented in detail by anyone. Its flower bracts are translucent; also there is a fine white margin on its lip and disc. Even though its flowers are widely documented because of its availability in nurseries, homes and roadsides all over the region, none produced the details needed for further studies and references. Hence, I put extra efforts to document those details in that season. The flowers I selected were hardly 3 to 5 ft high from the ground level. I sat comfortably on a chair, which is always loaded in our vehicle, arranged multiple flashes on many monopods and documented the flowers. To make sure all details were captured, I transferred the photographs to the laptop and checked it there itself. It was a fulfilling moment to see such details documented.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Bulbophyllum odoratissimum Lindl., Page no 79 – 80.

Bulbophyllum parviflorum C. S. P. Parish & Rchb.f.

The Plant

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulb small, less than 1.5cm across, turbinate and depressed, attached to a thick, branching rhizome more than 4 to 6 cm apart; rhizome clothed and with numerous roots arising in intervals. Leaf narrowly oblong, acute, narrowed to a short petiole, 5 to 8 cm long and 1.5 cm in width. Flowers small, in scape arising from the older bulbs, decurved. Peduncle as long as the racemes, laxly arranged.

The Flower

Flowers 1 to 1.5 cm across, pedicellate. Sepals equal, broadly lanceolate and acuminate, dorsal diagonally erect, lateral spreading. Petals very small, lanceolate with ciliolate margins. Lip as long as the sepals, oblong, decurved, with ciliolate margins and a channel like cut at the base. Floral bract very small.

Sepals various shades of pale pink to rose, its outer surface with many irregular dots of dark pink at its base. Petals and lip creamy white to creamy pink. Floral bracts pale green.

Bulbophyllum parviflorum, C. S. P. Parish & Rchb.f.
Bulbophyllum parviflorum C. S. P. Parish & Rchb.f.

The Pursuit

The only Bulbophyllum species from the region, which has an unusually depressed bulb. This species covers the host trees, criss-crossing its trunk and branches with thousands and thousands of its plants, attached to the trunk as well as hanging out. As such it can be spotted from a mile away and recognized easily because of its pseudo-bulb’s shape. The same way, I too spotted it from agood distance on a routine survey in the monsoon months. With enough moisture and wetness due to regular rains, the plant was producing numerous new young leaves. Even though an individual specimen is very small in size, the entire growth covered the huge host tree leaving no room. Prior to that find, I had seen the species only from the drawings of Pantling. Hence, it was a joyous moment for me to see the unusually shaped pseudo-bulbs and to study it. The fact that the plant blooms in the early winter days made me take necessary notes and mark it for later observations.

In the early winter days I visited the location to examine the plant and observed many scape arising. After a week I made my second visit, but was disappointed to see them still in buds. On my third visit I found many of them in bloom. Then I observed the small hairy margins on its petals and lips (Even though King & Pantling had mentioned about this in detail, I had missed to register it). I had developed some lighting techniques to document minute hairy outgrowths in flowers and the technique had enabled me to produce fantastic results. Hence I thought of documenting this flower with those lighting techniques. However, on that particular day I was not carrying those lighting instruments. So one more visit was needed to finish this documentation. The next day I was forced to be in my camp house itself due to a local strike. On the third day, I went with all necessary equipment and produced this amazing photograph of the species with its minute hairs on its petals and lips.

Reference:

Bulbophyllum thomsoni Hook., Page no 83 – 84 of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Bulbophyllum careyanum (Hook.) Spreng.

The Plant

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs ovoid, ribbed, erect, 1.5 to 2 cm long and 1 to 1.3 cm in diameter, attached to a woody stout rhizome either close together or at a a distance of around 2 cm apart. Leaf fleshy, oblong, tapering on both ends, sub-sessile, apex notched, 6 to 14 cm long and 1.2 to 2 cm in width. Flowers in a scape arising from the side of the pseudo-bulb, 2 to 3 cm long and clothed with many lanceolate dried bracts, raceme decurved, densely flowered, 9 to 12 cm long.

The Flower

Flowers small, about 1.2 cm long, pedicellate. Sepals unequal, dorsal very small, oblong; lateral more than twice longer than the dorsal, ovate, acute, converging at its apex. Petals small, broadly triangular. Lip half the size of the lateral sepals, curved, disc channelled from its base to the middle, edges minutely ciliolate. Column with two apical teeth. Floral bracts longer than the ovary, lanceolate.

The outer surface of the sepals are of shinning brown with even darker marks throughout, inner side is pinkish brown with uneven darker markings. Petals pinkish brown. Lip reddish pink fading to its apex and margins. Column brilliant yellow. Pedicel bright red, scape greenish red, floral bracts pale brown.

Bulbophyllum careyanum, (Hook.) Spreng.
Bulbophyllum careyanum (Hook.) Spreng.

The Pursuit

A very interesting plant as well as flower of the region. In the monumental referral work of King and Pantling, the authors added a special paragraph to describe this species and its allied ones. However, they mentioned the altitudinal range of the species as “warm valleys” only. The altitudinal range and the blooming period are the two key factors that help in locating each species. The advantage I acquired about this species was the illustration of Pantling in the referral book, the drawing was excellent and the uniqueness of its pseudo-bulb attracted my attention. I took the unique shape as a reference and was searching for the species. In 2013, during the summer months I was stationed in a tropical warm forest with my work. During the survey work, I noticed few clumps of an orchid on the main trunk of some tall trees growing close by to each other. The plants were around 20 to 25 high and I was not able to study them from ground level. On observation with binoculars I noticed the unique shape of the pseudo-bulbs, but one important description of the plant by King and Pantling never matched, “pseudo-bulbs erect, ovoid, ribbed, about 3 in. apart……”. The bulbs of those plants I found were not 3 inches apart, most of them were arranged close together. As the blooming time of the plant was mentioned October, November and December in the referral book, I decided to mark the location and visit them in the next winter months. It is always advisable to re-visit unidentified plants once in ten or fifteen days to make sure they are not in bloom. However, I could not make those regular visits possible as I normally spend the months between May and October in the high alpine regions.

When I was back from the Alpine zone in the mid of October, I remembered about this species and the first trip was made to this location. To my surprise I found few fully developed racemes with almost matured buds ready to open. As the flowers were about 20 to 25 feet high and getting or making a ladder of that height was impossible, we thought of some other ideas. Near to the location, there was a new home being constructed and they had just removed the bamboo support from the concrete of its first floor. With the help of those workers we made a temporary stilt platform and sitting on that I produced this wonderful photograph. Also, I was also able to update the fact that the pseudo-bulbs bulbs of this species can grow close together as well as in a distance as described by the authors.

Reference:

Bulbophyllum careyanum Spreng., Page no 71 – 72  of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Arundina graminifolia (D.Don) Hochr.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Plant with varying height, from 2.25 to 9 ft. Stem erect, reed like woody structure, around 1.5 to 2.5 cm in width. Leaves many, alternatively arranged, membranous, acuminate, sessile, clasping, sheathed at the base, 4 to 12 cm long and 1.25 to 2 cm in width. Flowers in branched racemose, many flowered.

The Flower

Flowers large, 3 to 5 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal erect, oblong; lateral parallel to each other, underneath the lip, lanceolate, one nerved. Petals broader than the sepals, rhomboid with pointed apex, spreading, one nerved. Lip variable, portion between its base and mouth convolute round the column, mouth large and spreading, deeply bifid, with numerous parallel veins. The disc with three lamellae.

Flower colour varies from plant to plant. Sepals, petals and the convolate portion of the lip are with shades of pink. The spreading mouth is of a darker shade, with many veins.

Arundina graminifolia, (D.Don) Hochr.
Arundina graminifolia (D.Don) Hochr.

The Pursuit

My first journey uphill the Kalimpong-Sikkim road from Siliguri was in a hired vehicle – over loaded with too much luggage inside and poring heavily outside. Through the foggy windowpane, I spotted this plant in bloom with many of them in flower. To be frank, in those days I was not aware of the abundance of this species and its relatively longer blooming season. Hence, I wanted to document those flowers then and there. It was raining heavily and removing the camera and accessories from the fully loaded luggage inside the vehicle was not so easy. Out of curiosity I made our vehicle stop there and observed the flowers thoroughly. There were many flowers of brilliant pink colour. The driver was kind enough to pull down the luggage and help me in getting all those instruments needed for the shoot. However, the need of the hour, the umbrella was not traceable. It was in one of the suitcases but we were not able to locate it.

As it was the first species I had located I was utterly disappointed to leave the documentation undone. As we were about to leave, I spotted two people walking towards the other side with umbrellas. As they approached our car, I made a very polite request to borrow their umbrella in Hindi, which was promptly translated to Nepali by my driver. They obliged happily. My driver made both of them sit in our vehicle and we took their umbrellas and produced a few photographs – of course not so technically perfect ones!!!

Later on, in my entire four years in the hills, I had spotted this species several hundred times from many locations. Each of them shows its own colour pattern; hence I document this species almost every time I got an opportunity.

Reference:

Arundina bambusifolia Lindl., Page no 113 of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Esmeralda clarkei Rchb.f.

The Plant

Epiphyte. Stem 4 to 7 feet long, stout, pendulous, roots thick and long. Leaves arranged alternatively, oblong, sessile, with sheathed and clasping base, bifid at the apex, 5 to 8 cm long and 1.5 to 2 cm in width. Flowers in leaf opposed stout 12 to 16 cm long racemes.

The Flower

Flowers very attractive, large, around 3 to 4 cm across, 4 to 5 in numbers, attached in  distance and arising from a node like structure in the raceme enclosed in a clasping bract. Sepals unequal; dorsal oblong and blunt, erect; lateral oblong, falcate, spreading. Petals slightly shorter and narrower than the lateral sepals, oblong, minutely arching down, spreading. Margins of sepals and petals towards their apex are curved up ending in a deflexed beak tip.

Sepals and petals are yellowish brown up to two-third of its length from the base, with broad chestnut brown half broken horizontal bands, the upper one-third  totally chestnut brown. Lip yellowish brown to orange base throughout, the side lobes of the hypochile with chestnut brown vertical bands, its disc white with two brilliant brown elongated patches; epichile with white diverging bands. The apex of the anther with pinkish brown margins.

Esmeralda clarkei, Rchb.f.
Esmeralda clarkei Rchb.f.

The Pursuit

Undoubtedly, this one of the most beautiful orchid flower of the region. As the saying goes, “beauty is sometimes a curse” is most appropriate for this species as it was collected in plenty for trade due to its beauty, thus making it almost on the verge of extinction from the wild. I had seen this species in bloom in many houses and nurseries of the region, but there was something missing in those flowers. Although King and pantling used to the term “magnificent” to describe the flowers of this genus, I felt they are gloomy.

I was determined to find this species from its natural habitat. More importantly, I am the only person who had documented and studied the other two species of this genus from the region; hence it was more important for me to find this species also. (Note: In the days of King and Pantling, there were three species under Arachnanthe genus from the region).

I know a couple of places of its nearest ally of this species, Esmeralda cathcartii (Lindl) Rchb. My initial thoughts of finding this species in those locations were not right. King and Pantling’s mention about this species growing at higher altitudes than its ally and blooms in a different season made me shift my search to some other locations. I searched vast areas inside a semi tropical forest for weeks. During that search I found many other species but this one remained elusive. The search month coincided with many religious festivals of the region and getting somebody to accompany me was really impossible. All my accomplices were either on official or “unofficial” leave. As the region was inside a protected area and with enough wildlife, venturing inside all alone was not allowed. Even though the region of Sikkim-Himalayas is very small in area, there are many places where no humans have ever ventured. It is interesting to note that many of theses places are inside protected areas, which are to be monitored regularly by its staff in the form of patrols. Taking into consideration the blooming time of the species and my curiosity to find it, the in-charge official of the area somehow arranged a casual official to accompany me for a few days. He was such a lazy man; we never got along very nicely. However, as the saying goes, “something is better than nothing”, I took advantage of his presence and went deep inside the unexplored areas. The search went on for several days without any success. But I never gave up, one day as we were returning to the base camp in a patrol trek, I found two long pendulous stems of this species swinging in the light evening breeze right above our head from a huge tree. The stems were more than 6 feet long and curved down. It was a joyous moment of my entire days there. I never thought I would find the species with such ease. As the days were very short during those months we decided to return to the camp and come back next day to study the plant. Next day we were there before afternoon, and found there were 6 buds coming up and it would take quite some time to be in flower. I visited the plant several times in the next one month to see them in bloom and produced this wonderful photograph.

The area is a habitat of many bears and leopards. There was a recent report of a leopard attack on a patrolling party. However, with the grace of the Almighty in the almost 48 days I worked there, I never encountered any big wild animals.

Reference:

Arachnanthe clarkei Rolfe., Page no 209 – 210 of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Anthogonium gracile Wall. ex Lindl. – the alba form.

The Plant

Almost the space as that of the species one, but with relatively larger pseudo-bilbs and longer leaves and peduncle. Flowers 4 to 5, laxly arranged in distance.

The Flower

Sepals, petals and lip pure white. Anther bright yellow, ovary pale green, floral bract brown.

Anthogonium gracile, Wall. ex Lindl - the white form
Anthogonium gracile Wall. ex Lindl – the white form.

The Pursuit

In the monumental publication, King and Pantling noted, “A white-flowered variety is not uncommon”. However, this white form was not much reported or documented from the region. That made this white form one of the most sought orchid from the region for me.

As the rose coloured species are available in plenty, almost everywhere, it is a familiar species to the local population. However, due to its peculiar shape most of the people cannot relate it as an orchid! Wherever I went for other species during those months, I was asking everyone about the white coloured one, without any success.

In the year 2012, I was working in the alpine areas of Sikkim-Himalayas between May and October. As the road connectivity always got blocked due to monsoon-triggered landslides I seldom came to the plains during those days. In those alpine areas there are not much of private transport available and I totally depended on Army vehicles to shuttle between places. In the month of September, I was forced to make a trip to the State capital in connection with finalizing some publications. I took an early morning army vehicle, which was going to their base camp in the town downhill. Those huge trucks are built for those terrains and are the safest mode of transport on those hilly terrains. As we crossed the half way, the walkie talkie in the cabin relayed message of a landslide a few kilometers ahead and asked the vehicle to return to its starting point. As there were some officials who have to board a train to their home that very same evening, they requested the pilot of the vehicle to drop them up to the landslide point. After getting permission from the higher authorities he took us to the landslide area. The slide was about 80 ft long and the road was covered with almost 4 to 5 ft high mud and many rocks. As I have to attend the meeting next day, I decided to take the risk and cross the landslide on foot and get another lift from the other side. The road was totally covered with mud and in some places my legs sunk in the slug up to my knees. I was muddy all over from my shoes to my cap. Somehow, with the help of many others I walked the entire landslide and reached the other side. Went to the stream ahead washed the clothes and shoes without much success. Waited with hope for a vehicle to go downhill. As the message of the slide was relayed over walkie talkie, the check post downhill prevented any vehicle movement and those people who crossed the slide were stranded there. As I was with very little luggage I decided to walk down hill to the nearest town, which was about 16 km away.

As I was walking down hill, I started spotting many of those rose coloured flowers of this species on both the sides of the road. I was concentrating on both sides for any colour variations with a hope that I will find the white one. As I was taking a sharp turn, made by cut opening a projection of the rocky hill, I spotted few white flowers on the left side of the road at a height of about 20 to 25 ft. The sides were full of undergrowth and spotting them was very difficult. I tried to climb that side, but it was almost vertical and climbing up was impossible. My efforts to find a long bamboo to clear the undergrowths from the road and identify those white flowers also met with no success. As I was wondering what to do next to reach the flowers, I heard the sound of army trucks coming up the hill. They were going with porters and helpers to clear the land slide and open the road for traffic. Luckily, I knew the personnel on the first army vehicle and they stopped by to inquire about the landslide. Then I requested the pilot of that vehicle to move his truck to the right side of the road, so that I can climb on the top of its cabin and reach out to those flowers. He obliged with a firm reply that he could spare just a couple of minutes. I climbed up the cabin and cleared some undergrowths and was happy to identify the white form of this species. As the trucks have to go to clear the slide and open the road for traffic, I climbed down immediately to let them go. Then I decided to stay back in the downhill town for the day and come to those flowers next day with proper arrangements for the documentation.

Next day, I hired a vehicle and arranged a long ladder and proceeded to the location and with the help of the driver, climbed up the ladder and cleared some undergrowths and documented the plants. They were altogether 6 plants with 16 flowers and 7 buds. Most of the flowers were fresh and I selected this particular one and produced this wonderful photograph.

Reference:

Anthogonium gracile Lindl., Page no 96 – 97 of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Anthogonium gracile Wall. ex Lindl.

The Plant

Terrestrial, but often found growing as lithophyte also. Pseudo bulb small, ovoid, partially buried in the ground (if terrestrial). Stem narrow, 6 to 18 cm long, sheathed at the base. Leaves 2 to 6, many nerved, long, with parallel edges and pointed apex, sessile, base sheathing, 6 to 15 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in width. Flowers in peduncle arising from the lower side of the pseudo bulb, longer than the leaves, 1 or rarely more, raceme very rarely branched. Ovary ribbed and long stalked, with a narrow lanceolate, clasping floral bract arising from its lower side.

The Flower

Flowers many, 5 to 24, laxly arranged. Non-resupinate. Flowers 1.5 to 2 cm across with long-stalked ovary. Sepals unequal, dorsal oblong; lateral ovate, twice wider than the dorsal; connate at their bases to form a narrow cylindric tube. Petals oblong, smaller than the lateral sepals, the base attached inside the tube. Sepals and petals single veined. The base of the lip attached to the column, tubular, apex wide open.

Sepals and petals rose to pink coloured. The mouth of the lip white, disc and side lobes with many pinkish dark spots, anther a brilliant yellow, ovary pinkish brown, floral bract brown.

Anthogonium gracile, Wall. ex Lindl.
Anthogonium gracile Wall. ex Lindl.

The Pursuit

As the monsoon settles down in the month of August, the open land, slopes, rocks of the sub-tropical forests are full of this species. They cover the entire area and within few weeks start blooming. Its blooming phenomenon continues for two more months thus enabling a wide range of audience to enjoy its beauty. I had spotted these plants in plenty by the end of monsoon from many locations and waited for them to bloom.

Even though widely documented, the colour variations and markings inside its lip were not properly documented earlier. Hence, I decided to document this species in detail for further references. As the flower is non-resupinate, with its lip pointing upwards, the dark markings on its disc is apparently invisible with all published photographs. Hence, I decided to take a low angle shot to make those markings visible. For the same I was looking for a few plants growing at a height of about 6 to 7 ft from the ground with its stem erect and stretching outward. Even though the species was in plenty in that location, one with all features of my imagination was difficult to find. After a couple of hours of search I found a few plants growing on a rock next to a small stream. The plants were on the outer side of the rock and projecting outwards. Their height was also very much suitable for my low angle shots. Stepping into the knee-deep water of that small stream I produced this low angle shot of the species with full details of its disc markings and colour variations.

Reference:

Anthogonium gracile Lindl., Page no 96 – 97 of The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).